Reaction: Brown on New Year's Day defeat to Dons

Phil Brown was once again left disappointed after watching his Blues side fall to a 2-0 defeat away at AFC Wimbledon thanks to goals from Liam Trotter and Tom Soares.

The defeat was Southend’s sixth in their last seven in all competitions and after the full-time whistle, the Blues boss gave us his thoughts on the New Year’s Day defeat.

On the difference between the two sides…

They defended properly and we didn’t. Two poor goals we conceded and it took until the second goal went in before we started to really get the ball down and playing the way I want to play.

The lads have been crying out for a surface like that, we got it today and we didn’t really exploit it. We didn’t really pass the ball as well as I thought we could.

I think Wimbledon took a leaf out of Shrewsbury’s book, they went 4-3-3, they went in our faces and teams are working us out. They’re stopping our two full-backs from going forward and consequently are waiting for a moment to come along, and that moment is coming along as gifts.

It was two gifts today, but it was the clean sheet they’ve kept that they’ve won the game with. It’s something that we’re crying out for.

On what needs to change…

We’re in the January transfer window now and, if given the chance, I would love to make changes, probably three of four and it’s a mentality change, not just a player change where the group’s concerned.

That’s all I’ve spoken to them about after the game and pointed one or two fingers at people. They don’t like it but it doesn’t matter, this is about people’s livelihoods, people like me, my backroom staff keeping their jobs because that’s the important part.

When a player crosses the white line, if he plays poorly he doesn’t lose his job, but there are people in my backroom staff and myself that are probably fearing that at the moment.

It’s only us that can turn this around, there are only the players and myself that can turn this group mentality around and we have to work harder, it’s as simple as that.

On the team’s away form and travelling support…

Everybody is going to be making reference to our away form at this moment in time and thinking there’s a softness about us and I think Wimbledon saw that today which is the disappointing part of it.

We’ve got a great support, massive travelling support week in and week out it, doesn’t matter where we are and we’re letting them down. Me, my backroom staff, the players, we’re letting everybody down at the football club.

I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you [if I wasn’t confident of turning it around]. I’ve been in this situation many a time and it’s not nice.

At the same time it’s one that requires a thought process that gets you to a system, a formation, a group of players that are going to go out there collectively to try and win a game of football and that takes a lot of hard work, but it takes a group mentality and the players have got to come to the party.